England-Bangladesh: First Test Results

An England win in the first test of the summer was, understandably to most, an expected formality. Although the home side eventually overcame Bangladesh, the tourists were far more competitive than many gave them credit for.

Overall it was a convincing win, yet there were promising glimpses from the young Tigers over the five days that raised eyebrows.

Day one saw England immediately take the edge as JonathanTrott scored a majestic hundred. He doubled his output on day two in which England charged to end on 505.

Eoin Morgan made 44 on his test debut, but there were failures for Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, and Alistair Cook which will need to be ratified at Old Trafford Friday, ahead of Pakistan's arrival.

England’s domination was halted by the Bangladeshi top order, however, as bothTamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes played positively, the England attack battling hard without reward.

The Tigers refused to crumble as Siddique offered good support to Kayes. However, after this partnership was broken, wickets began to tumble. Steven Finn ended with four wickets and impressed largely on his first test in England.

Missing the follow-on target by 23 runs, Strauss opted to make Bangladesh bat again. Once more the top order had a solid start with notorious stroke-maker Tamim capitalising on a tired attack yearning for another bowler.

The youngster raced to 103 off just 100 balls before falling to Finn. His innings lit up the day and showed that there is serious potential in this side.

Tamim grabbed the headlines; however, both Kayes and Siddique made it into the seventies and highlighted the batting talent in the side.

The England bowlers faced an unforgiving wicket on a very hot day but bounced back in the evening session with Bangladesh ending five down heading into day five with a lead of 101. This is all good preparation as their will be many days like this to come in Australia.

Finn got straight to work wrapping up the Bangladesh inning when he removed captain Sakib and completed his maiden five wicket test haul when Rahim edged to Prior.

England needed just 160 to win and immediate momentum was gifted to the hosts as the opening bowlers struggled to find their line and length, as well as having difficulty with their run-ups.

Despite the loss of Cook for 23, Strauss powered to 82 before falling to his counterpart Sakib. It was left toTrott to hit the winning runs and give England the lead in this two match series.